1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to patient transfer systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Workers in the health care profession have seen an increase in the work load as governments cut back funding to, and thus lay-off of staff in, hospitals, nursing homes and the like. Reductions in available staff present additional challenges when physically incapacitated patients need transfer from one location to another. Traditionally this has been carried out by one or more staff who manually support the patient to a degree depending on the patient's ability. In some cases, particularly with an infirm patient, large and bulky stretchers are used when the stretcher can be positioned alongside the patent. In other cases, lifting devices are used to lift the patient in a sling and, with the help of staff be transferred by the lifting device as it rolls along the floor with the patient suspended off the floor.
These transfer methods are tedious and present significant risk of injury to the staff as a result of bearing the patient's weight and perhaps tripping or slipping during the transfer. These transfer methods are also unsatisfactory for the patient because of the potential of injury as well as an added loss of dignity and the fear of being dropped. There remains a need to improve patient transfer.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel patient transfer device.